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What are the most and least rewarding aspects of pursuing a career in which you are interested in but not great at.

I am going to pursue Engineering, however, I have never taken a physics or calculus class. It is the only career field that I enjoy and have participated in many engineering programs. #engineering #chicago #computer-science

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Ken’s Answer

You asked a very good question. The feeling of rewards and accomplishment in any career area directly to the suitability of that career to your personality traits. When I was doing college recruiting, I found too many graduates who had skipped that step and ended up in careers/jobs for which they were ill suited; and therefore, very unhappy. I would like to present some steps that will help you to enter into career area where you have a good chance of reaching a feeling fulfillment.

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The area of engineering is very broad, and it is very important that you select an area that will be challenging and rewarding with a chance of reaching fulfillment. Therefore, a first step would be to take a professionally administered and interpreted interest and aptitude test at your high school ( and possibly later at your college, as it may be interpreted differently) to identify which are your personality traits apply most suitably. You should not wait until college to do this, as there might be courses in high school that will help along the proper route. I have found too many times that people paid for courses in college that they could have taken for free in high school, if they had planned correctly.
When you have confirmed an appropriate career area to follow, talk to the person at your high school (college) who track and works with graduates to arrange to meet, talk to, visit, and possibly shadow graduates who are doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can experience the inside view of the job, which may be very different from the view of the job from the outside. Here are some helpful tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and attend meeting of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you might want to do belong, so that you can meet and talk to people and get their advice. Not only will you be getting valuable information, but you will be creating networking contacts that will be of great value throughout your education/career journey. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
Here are some sites that will give you more of an understanding of the area on engineering: ## https://www.engineergirl.org/ ## ## http://www.futureengineers.org/ ## ## https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43zVcmTJSKM ##
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Daniel’s Answer

I mean the obvious big downside to trying to pursue a career that you are not great at would be not being able to find gainful employment. E.g. if you never take calculus, you won't get an engineering degree, and thus will find it hard to get a job as an engineer.


However there is a solution to that: you'd have to learn physics and calculus. You don't have to be super great at calculus to become a decent engineer, but you do have to pass it. Fortunately a lot of people have to pass calculus, so there's a lot of good resources (at Uni, online, etc).



I do also note you listed computer science in the tags, and I will say that the physics/math requirements for CS tend to be drastically easier than the physics/math requirements for "real" engineering. So, there's always that. (Might still require calculus though...)
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Archived’s Answer

Interesting question... and I think the key word here is rewarding. As long as you pursue a career that you are interested in it will be rewarding. However, the degree to which it will be rewarding will vary based on how much work/effort you put into it. Either way you look at your question you have to become proficient at whatever career you pursue in order to make a meaningful impact in that field.

One of the most rewarding aspects of pursuing a career in which you are interested in but not great at -- Your growing interest in the career may spark a passion in you that inspires you to study more and work harder... so you can become great at it and make a meaningful difference.

One of the least rewarding aspects of pursuing a career in which you are interested in but not great at -- You will need to study more and work harder to become proficient enough to make a meaningful difference... which will continue to grow your interest in the career and just may spark a passion in you.

Archived recommends the following next steps:

You may benefit from completing an assessment that helps you determine your gifts and identify your strengths.
You may benefit from completing an assessment that allows you to explore which careers match closely with your strengths or gifts
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Roman’s Answer

Doing interesting work is a reward in and of itself, and oftentimes those with a deep passion or genuine interest will shine as stellar employees. A career can run decades, often with unpredictable twists and turns as workers find emergent opportunities and discover their own strengths and preferences. Formal coursework helps us learn both the subject matter and our own interest in it. When a worker participates in something they enjoy, they become a beacon to encourage and empower their peers to shine too. The most rewarding aspects are likely to be the growth and job satisfaction. Congratulations on finding something you love to do!
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